Now that the iconic towers are down, the focus at the International Peace Garden can shift to replacement.
The peace tower has been the key component of the garden skyline since 1982. However, starting in 2011, the four–column structure began to deteriorate, with pieces of concrete falling off. Plans were made to knock it down and it finally began at the end of February.
The job, done by RTS Shearing of Jamestown, North Dakota with engineering from KLJ of Bismarck, was supposed to take a week. However, according to IPG CEO Garry Enns, the original method of chewing away at the towers with pinchers did not work well. There was more rebar than expected and a lot of mechanical breakdowns. So they brought in tow trucks and cracked the towers in parts before pulling them over. He said the towers were down in the main by the end of the previous week. The base is still there and needs to be removed. The company has until the end of the month to complete the work.
“They are working against time,” Enns said. “They are worried about moving the stuff before the road restrictions come on in North Dakota.”
Enns was away at a conference when the towers finally came down, and admitted it was quite a change when he came back last Tuesday.
“It looks pretty different. It is a different skyline and a lot of people will feel that. At the same time, I was at a meeting this morning where we discussed how to get the next one built.”
There was a competition to design a replacement and one was chosen. However, no final decision has been made. A fully functional plan must be made, and serious fund-raising must be done. Enns said he could see the core idea presented having some adjustments made to make it more feasible, and he hopes the different levels of government are willing to help fund a replacement. A price tag could go as high as $10 million to build something new, so it is not likely to happen immediately.
But they are hoping to get the site cleaned up as soon as possible, and do some planting in that area to make it more attractive this summer. Enns said the changes could start a revitalization of the Peace Chapel there, which has not seen work in many years. He added the west end of the Peace Garden has never been fully developed, and some ideas about that could be forthcoming in the future.
At any rate, there is a hope the old Peace Tower can be replaced at some point.
“Losing an icon is always really sad,” Enns stated. “But maybe the guy who was there when the tower went down can be the guy who is there when the tower is brought back up.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff